How many times can you reuse BRASS
- Thread starter BHLBAMA
- Start date
blinddog
New member
It depends on many variables. I have some 30-06 Brass I have loaded ten times or more I have some 45-70 I have loaded a lot more than that. But I do not ever load to max, I am not hung up on the faster is better theory. I find that loads in the mid range area work best are more accurate and have a lot less recoil as well as less wear on my rifles and brass. I handload for every firearm I load BTW and have been doing so for over forty years. The exception to the max load rule is my handguns I load 44 and 357 Mag to near max, all the time even plinking loads. Since these are primarily defensive tools I always want the same ballistics when target shooting or useing them in real life. To be real honest though i only have a few loads that I use all the time I have tested them enough so I know what they will do in my firearms. At every concevable distance I may, shoot at game or a target.
I am also very careful about inspection, at every stage of handloading. From picking up Brass to tumbleing sizeing and loading.
I am also very careful about inspection, at every stage of handloading. From picking up Brass to tumbleing sizeing and loading.
Quote:
THis may of been brought up before but I am curious how many times you can reuse and get good results out of one piece of rifle brass??? I am using FL sizing dies not neck or Small Base.
Impossible to say with the information given. I have cases that have been loaded 30 - 40 times and still going strong. I've had to throw cases away after loading them once.
"It depends".
Generally, I like to get at least 10 firings out of them and will ajust my load and loading practices accordingly. But sometimes I'm willing to take less, and just pour the coal to 'em and case life be Damned.
As a very, VERY general rule, I start off a new barrel with 200 pieces of new brass. I like to be able to wear out the barrel without having to make more new cases for it. So if I figure the barrel is good for 2500 rounds, I better get at least 10 each out of them. If the barrel is only going to be good for 500 rounds, then 2 or 3 firings each is good enough.
But... "It depends".
- DAA
THis may of been brought up before but I am curious how many times you can reuse and get good results out of one piece of rifle brass??? I am using FL sizing dies not neck or Small Base.
Impossible to say with the information given. I have cases that have been loaded 30 - 40 times and still going strong. I've had to throw cases away after loading them once.
"It depends".
Generally, I like to get at least 10 firings out of them and will ajust my load and loading practices accordingly. But sometimes I'm willing to take less, and just pour the coal to 'em and case life be Damned.
As a very, VERY general rule, I start off a new barrel with 200 pieces of new brass. I like to be able to wear out the barrel without having to make more new cases for it. So if I figure the barrel is good for 2500 rounds, I better get at least 10 each out of them. If the barrel is only going to be good for 500 rounds, then 2 or 3 firings each is good enough.
But... "It depends".
- DAA
IDBob
New member
I've been loading for 45 years and my experience mirrors DAA's. If your loading hot, brass isn't going to last long. If your full length sizing the same thing.
The less you work brass the longer it will last. I use Lee Collet dies and not only don't you need any lube they work the brass very little. Keeping loads in the middle of the pressure range will usually result in longer brass life and most of the time better accuracy. There comes a time though when your neck sizing that you will need to bump the shoulder back with a FL die.
Most game animals won't notice 125 fps difference when a bullet hits them.
The less you work brass the longer it will last. I use Lee Collet dies and not only don't you need any lube they work the brass very little. Keeping loads in the middle of the pressure range will usually result in longer brass life and most of the time better accuracy. There comes a time though when your neck sizing that you will need to bump the shoulder back with a FL die.
Most game animals won't notice 125 fps difference when a bullet hits them.
CatShooter
New member
FL dies are tough on brass.
I have some 308 brass that I have loaded 29 times, with full long range match loads.
It mostly depends on the quality of your chamber, and the type and quality of your dies.
It helps to start off with the best of brass too.
.
I have some 308 brass that I have loaded 29 times, with full long range match loads.
It mostly depends on the quality of your chamber, and the type and quality of your dies.
It helps to start off with the best of brass too.
.
I wouldn't worry about using full length dies being hard on your brass. If set up properly, you can get 10 or more loadings from medium range cases such as the 30-06.
I generally purchase an RCBS case micrometer for each caliber I load, and will not load for a gas gun without one. Measure a once fired case(cases fired in bolt guns). Set your die to re size (several cases) to .001 to .0015" less than the fired case and you are working your brass the absolute minimum, yet will have no problems chambering the rounds. One caveat is that you need to keep your cases separated as to the number of firings as brass work hardens the more it is fired/re sized and will spring back a bit more after multiple sizings.
Determining the actual chamber size on a gas gun (especially an AR) is a bit more complicated, but can be done and does maximize your case life while assuring that each round will chamber in your rifle.
I loaded thousands of rounds of 30-06 in GI brass over a lot of years of highpower competition and usually discarded my cases when they had been reloaded 10 times. Never had a case separation, even in the Garands which are a bit harder on brass than a bolt gun. Usually sized the gas gun .0015-.002 under chamber size as a bit of added insurance against slam-fires.
Regards,
hm
I generally purchase an RCBS case micrometer for each caliber I load, and will not load for a gas gun without one. Measure a once fired case(cases fired in bolt guns). Set your die to re size (several cases) to .001 to .0015" less than the fired case and you are working your brass the absolute minimum, yet will have no problems chambering the rounds. One caveat is that you need to keep your cases separated as to the number of firings as brass work hardens the more it is fired/re sized and will spring back a bit more after multiple sizings.
Determining the actual chamber size on a gas gun (especially an AR) is a bit more complicated, but can be done and does maximize your case life while assuring that each round will chamber in your rifle.
I loaded thousands of rounds of 30-06 in GI brass over a lot of years of highpower competition and usually discarded my cases when they had been reloaded 10 times. Never had a case separation, even in the Garands which are a bit harder on brass than a bolt gun. Usually sized the gas gun .0015-.002 under chamber size as a bit of added insurance against slam-fires.
Regards,
hm
Dultimatpredator
Well-known member
I normaly dont count how many times my brass has been reloaded. I just check for any signs of cracking and toss out. I have shot many casings, even my 300 RUM, over a dozen plus times and are still going.
azcoyotehunter
New member
So how do you tell when your brass is worn out? Cracking of the neck is the only thing I look for, what are the other indicators?
Jim n Iowa
New member
I notice that the smaller calibers tend to split necks as appossed to larger ones. My 223 and 243 will start spliting necks after 2x, the 7mm mag is going strong at 4-5 with out a hitch.
Jim
Jim
Quote:
So how do you tell when your brass is worn out? Cracking of the neck is the only thing I look for, what are the other indicators?
Cracked necks are an exceedingly rare occurence, for me anyway. I mean, I've had a few batches of crappy brass over the years that would split necks, but not counting those batches of crummy brass, I can count all the split necks I've ever had on my fingers.
The number one thing that gets my brass retired is loose primer pockets. I throw away more brass for loose primer pockets than all other causes combined. A very (VERY!) distant second place is impending head seperation. That's pretty rare for me though, but has happened on a few batches of brass after a lot of sizings and firings.
All other causes combined are so few as to be not worth mentioning.
Really, for all practical purposes, my cases last until the primer pockets get loose - that's really the main thing that determines their useful life.
That's for me. It sounds like others get a heckuva lot more split necks than I ever have? I have no clue what's up with that.
Sloppy chambers and over sizing will make for head separations before loose primer pockets though. If you're just screwing the die down to the shell holder for a factory chamber that may be more likely to be what kills your cases.
- DAA
So how do you tell when your brass is worn out? Cracking of the neck is the only thing I look for, what are the other indicators?
Cracked necks are an exceedingly rare occurence, for me anyway. I mean, I've had a few batches of crappy brass over the years that would split necks, but not counting those batches of crummy brass, I can count all the split necks I've ever had on my fingers.
The number one thing that gets my brass retired is loose primer pockets. I throw away more brass for loose primer pockets than all other causes combined. A very (VERY!) distant second place is impending head seperation. That's pretty rare for me though, but has happened on a few batches of brass after a lot of sizings and firings.
All other causes combined are so few as to be not worth mentioning.
Really, for all practical purposes, my cases last until the primer pockets get loose - that's really the main thing that determines their useful life.
That's for me. It sounds like others get a heckuva lot more split necks than I ever have? I have no clue what's up with that.
Sloppy chambers and over sizing will make for head separations before loose primer pockets though. If you're just screwing the die down to the shell holder for a factory chamber that may be more likely to be what kills your cases.
- DAA
Jack Roberts
Moderator - Deceased
If you load pretty hot loads, loose primer pockets is what retires brass. If you resize too far, incipient head separation is what retires brass. If you don't do either of those, brass lasts a long long time. But you do need to anneal the necks before they start splitting. Brass both work hardens and age hardens. Both can be corrected by annealing to eliminate split necks.
Jack
Jack
Exactly! And with belted mag cases, ignore the belt; control the shoulder setback like any other case: .0015-.002". If use the bushing type dies, you can also reduce the bashing around that the necks get with normal dies. The bushings simply squeeze the neck down to the desired dimension, and nothing more. Normal dies oversize the necks, to insure that even thin brass is sized small enough, then pull it back to the proper dimension for bullet tension, with an expander ball. If the pockets are getting loose in a few loadings, you are almost certainly running dangerous pressures.
Evil_Lurker
New member
I get neck cracks on my .357 brass, but it's because the belling/crimping works the neck a lot more than a rifle round. Loose primer pockets are a lot more common on rifle brass, I don't remember ever having split necks one.
Dultimatpredator
Well-known member
How loose is too loose when installing primers to determine case life? Fore instance I load up around 60 bullets today and I could tell that some of the primers had a little resistance when installing and some were loose emough of a fit that it didnt feel like I had a primer in the pimer/seater die. These were new Remington brass casings.